


Not Only That, My Family's Expecting

by haloburns



Series: When You Smile, I Am Undone [14]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: But I mention using that name in an earlier fic, Multi, Rachel Holly is not a real Hamilton kid, so here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-22 18:03:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7448968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haloburns/pseuds/haloburns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're expecting a baby and they get a call.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Look Around At How Lucky We Are

It was the summer after the Eacker incident. The whole family was as normal as could be, what with Alex’s usual antics and John’s late nights and Eliza’s career. It was that summer they received a call about a four-year-old girl in need of adoption. They had been eating dinner when John's phone went off. He excused himself to answer it, but soon after waved Eliza and Alex to his side.

“Yes, yes, we’ll meet her. No, that won’t be a problem. Yes, thank you!" John turned to his husband and wife and exclaimed quietly, "They have a baby for us to adopt." Alex and Eliza looked at him incredulously.

"A baby? Really?” Alex asked, forcing his voice to stay quiet.

"Well she's four, but she needs a home and we always talked about another kid. But she's hard of hearing and only knows American Sign Language, so we’ll need to learn.”

“Should we tell the kids?" Eliza asked, looking over her shoulder at her children.

"Are we a bit old anyway? To go through it all again?"

"I don't think so, Eliza, I think this is perfect timing for us," John said in a gentle voice, his hazel eyes pleading.

“Alright, we’ll go visit her,” Eliza conceded after a few minutes of intense silence. The three returned to the table where John looked at Philip and Angie and explained in his calm voice that they were trying to adopt. At first, Angie seemed angry but as they talked about the girl, her anger left. Philip said he always wanted another sibling.

“As long as you don’t get suspended defending this one’s honour, we’re all good,” Alex said, looking pointedly at Philip and Angie. They looked everywhere but him as they returned to the subject matter of names and room arrangements and furniture and toys and school and the list just went on.  
That night, they laid in bed, still talking. In a lull, Alex asked quietly, “What’s her name?”

“Rachel Holly,” John said in a low voice. He didn’t notice Alex crying until his shirt was wet.

“It’s my mom’s name…” he explained, his voice tight with tears.

“Then she’s ours,” Eliza said after a moment of comforting silence. There was an unspoken agreement to that and they all fell asleep dreaming of their soon-to-be daughter.


	2. And That Would Be Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel Holly gets to come home and John is emo about it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI so tthis has ASL in it, indictaed by the italics?? I may change the formatting to the one similar in Rochambeau, but for now here it is
> 
> KEY  
> [italics] John  
> {italics} Alex  
> (italics) Eliza  
> Rachel  
> +italics+ Philip  
> ~italics~ Angie (not in this fic but for later reference.)
> 
> all the extra stuff is bolded so you can see it better/

The next week and a half, Eliza, Alex, and John worked hard to learn basic signs to communicate with her.

 **[** _Hi,_ **]** John signed to Eliza as they practiced. **[** _My name is J-O-H-N._ **]**

 **(** My _name is E-L-I-Z-A._ **)**

 **{** _We want to be your parents, R-A-C-H-E-L. Is that okay with you?_ **}** Alex signed, a grin plastered across his face. He hadn’t stopped since he’d learned her name. They practiced everything they wanted to tell her up until the minute they met her.

They sat in the office of the social worker, twiddling their thumbs in anticipation. Finally, he walked in and said, “She’s in the playroom waiting for you guys.” They stood, looking at each other nervously before linking hands and following the social worker.

In the playroom, a little black girl with rich, dark skin sat beside another black social worker while she did Rachel’s hair. She had just finished her pompoms when they walked in

 **(** _Hi, R-A-C-H-E-L, my name is E-L-I-Z-A. I’m going to be your mom,_ **)** she said, her fingers moving slowly. Rachel grinned and quickly responded.

 **<** _Hi, Mommy._ **>** Immediately, tears sprang to Eliza’s eyes.

 **{** _I'_ _m_ _A-L-E-X, and you can call me P-O-P-S._ **}** His eyes glistened with unshed tears, sitting next to Rachel.

**[** _And I’m J-O-H-N, and you can call me D-A-D-D-Y._ **]**

**<** _Three parents_?! **>** she said excitedly, turning to the worker who had done her hair. **<** _I_ _get three parents in one day!!_ ** _>_ **

They continued with their introductions before John said, **[** _Rachel, how do you feel about a brother and sister?_ **]** Like Eliza and Alex before her, she burst into tears, her words sloppy with emotion, **<** _My family, my big, big family._ ** _> _ ** Her parents pulled her in for a hug and held her tightly. After another hour, the social worker called them into his office to sign the paperwork.

“We’ll be dropping by in a week or so to see how it’s going, then we’ll set into motion the official adoption papers. Sound good?”

“It sounds amazing. We’ve been waiting for a kid like her forever, it feels like,” John confessed.

“Well, I’m glad you guys will adopt her. Unfortunately, no one wants a black deaf girl.”

“We do. We want Rachel Holly to be ours,” Alex said fiercely, forcing the words out of his constricting throat.

They finished the paperwork before gathering all of Rachel’s things and leading her to the car. The whole way home, the four sat steeped in their own thoughts. They all knew how lucky they were to have each other at last.

 

When they got home, she was immediately introduced to Philip and Angie who waited impatiently in the kitchen.

 **<** _I_ _'m_ _Rachel_ **> ** she said, mostly looking at her feet. Philip tapped her shoulder so she would look up at him.

 **+** _Hi, my name is P-H-I-L-I-P. I’m_ ** _so_** _happy you’re here, Rachel._ **+** She grinned as Angie introduced herself in a similar manner. The family then went about showing Rachel her room. They talked about her schedule within the family. They talked about dinner. They talked about everything with the four-year-old, content she was there to complete their family.

That night, in bed, John let his tears roll down his face.

“Babe?” Alex asked, turning to look up at John

“I’m just so happy she’s ours. She’s perfect and she’s ours now.” Eliza hugged him, laughing quietly.

“You know you have two other children, right?” she teased.

“Yeah, but she’s a kid who would have been left in the system her whole life or would have grown up like me in a house like that, with a family that wants to parade her around as their token. Instead, she got a family of colour that is willing to adapt to her disability. She got a family that loves her. And fuck, I’m glad that she’s _ours_ and no one else’s.” Eliza and Alex grinned at John and the three snuggled closer. John thought of a stupid line from the Grinch and he laughed.

"What?" Eliza asked, closing her eyes.

"And their family grew three times that day." he said, earning giggles from Alex and a tiny, sleepy smile from Eliza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! Ik the adoption process is a bitch, hence the conversation almost ten years ago and being a polyfamily theyd have a hard time getting a kid, so here's that.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed it!!

**Author's Note:**

> you get baby stories from now on
> 
> Comments always make me happy and u can always come talk to me at writingatnight--runningoutoftime.tumblr.com


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